Earlier this week, Old Spice launched phase two of a new campaign for its Red Zone body sprays, which includes two co-branded commercials with Proctor and Gamble sister brands Bounce and Charmin. The ads, which feature Old Spice veteran and former NFL player Terry Cruz, suggest (okay, shout) that Old Spice body spray is too powerful to stay in its own commercial. 
 

The Bounce ad starts off as a seemingly standard commercial for the Dryer Bar when all of a sudden there’s an explosion of sorts and Terry rides in on a jet ski and "hijacks" the ad. The Charmin Freshmates takeover happens even faster as Terry’s head emerges from the Freshmate box that’s sitting on top of a commode with his arms poking through the bathroom walls. Both ads end with the tagline “Smell is Power.” Undoubtedly, the purposely-disruptive takeover concept is new and breaks through the clutter, but are the sister brands really benefiting?
 

The idea behind this co-branded effort is that young men who make up Old Spice’s target market will be exposed to Bounce and Charmin. In theory, this allows the two sister brands to appeal to a wider audience and reach consumers who are outside their core target, which is mostly women (especially mothers).
 

Although exposure is part of the marketing equation — the more, the better — the true success of a commercial is determined by sales. Does it motivate people to buy? In the case of the Bounce and Charmin, the core benefits are communicated, but only if the viewer is fully engaged and attentive. Otherwise said viewer may miss the fact that “automatic freshness and softness and static control have never been easier...” and have the Old Spice message be their only takeaway. Or, they could misinterpret the Charmin Freshmates ad and conclude that Charmin makes a new air freshener that Terry Cruz is promoting. Anything could happen when consumers are distracted or have the mute button on. And, even if they do understand the key benefits of both products, that may not translate to the checkout lane. 
 

Whether or not this will be an effective commercial remains to be seen, but Old Spice at least deserves credit for experimenting to see what works. This co-branded commercial is very different than P&G’s traditional co-branding efforts, which are mostly product centric such as Dawn Hand Renewal with Olay Beauty or Tide with Febreze Freshness. It seems after the rampant success of the 2010 “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign the team is looking for the next big thing…even if that means using many different interpretations of  "freshness" and a whole lot of power.